Sault Ste. Marie.

• Position: COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTH

Major investments and projects by traditional and new industry and institutions have given people in Sault Ste. Marie some confidence they have not experienced in years.

Despite slumping world financial and steel markets, Essar Steel Algoma, the city's largest private employer with more than 3,000 workers, still plans to double steel production to 4 million tons. That means plenty of business spinoffs and steady work for local contractors and suppliers.

Construction has been at historic highs with a stream of projects including new residential subdivisions, institutional buildings and retail. The biggest project is the new $408 million Sault Area Hospital in the city's north end.

The community's 'Naturally Gifted' environmental slogan extends toward creating 'green jobs.' The area is home to one of Canada's largest wind farms and a solar farm developer has plans to erect solar arrays on the city's outskirts. A southern Ontario company, Elementa, is using the Sault's landfill as a test bed for their waste to energy technology. As well, both Essar Steel Algoma Inc. and St. Marys Paper have co-generation facilities either under construction or proposed.

The Sault's knowledge-based economy is gaining momentum, especially in information-technology and the applied...